Senior barrister had Qld Government brief stripped days after criticism of LNP policies

A senior barrister had his brief to act for the Queensland Government taken away just days after he criticised the LNP administration's law and order policies.

The highly unusual move, made against the wishes of the state's Crown solicitor, prompted a "crisis" within the Justice Department as bureaucrats scrambled to find an acceptable replacement.

Stephen Keim SC, best known for representing falsely accused terrorism suspect Mohamed Haneef, was in late November set to represent the Crown in an administrative law matter involving the Normanby pub in Brisbane.

He had received the files and begun work when bureaucrats told him he had not been approved for the job by the Justice Department's director-general, John Sosso.

"I was offered the brief. I accepted the brief. Then it was taken away after the crown solicitor consulted the director-general," Mr Keim said.

I was offered the brief. I accepted the brief. Then it was taken away after the Crown solicitor consulted the director-general.

Senior barrister Stephen Keim

Between receiving the files and losing the work, Mr Keim had appeared on ABC's PM program criticising the Newman Government over policies intended to keep sex offenders behind bars even if judges ordered their release.

He told the program the Government had "turned upside down" the usual principles of the administration of justice.

The barrister who was handed the brief instead, Roger Traves QC, had been advising the state's Attorney-General on the same sex offender policies.

The lawyer hired as Mr Traves' junior, Dearne Galbraith, previously worked as a policy adviser in Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie's office.

The Queensland president of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Michelle James, says the incident is concerning as it gives the impression that politics entered into the decision.

"Where the director-general overrules decisions which have been made by lawyers with conduct of a matter supported by the crown solicitor it raises the danger, I think, of creating an impression that political considerations are intruding into the decision making process about choice of counsel for Crown law work," she said.

Plan to hire Keim 'has not been approved upstairs'

Documents obtained under Right To Information laws show crown solicitor Greg Cooper wrote to Mr Sosso on December 2 recommending he endorse Mr Keim's appointment "as soon as possible along with a junior, Nitra Kidson, based on their availability, expertise and cost".

But the following day, senior principal lawyer Michael Prowse warned a colleague he had "a crisis with respect to senior and junior counsel" because the plan to hire Mr Keim and Ms Kidson "has not been approved upstairs".

Comment from retired Supreme Court Justice James Thomas

Dear Mr Cannane

I have read the material you sent me that you obtained on FOI, and the covering information in your email.

The sequence of events at least raises a suspicion that Mr Keim was REJECTED AS COUNSEL because he stepped out of line and criticised the Government's sex offenders legislation.

It would be disappointing if the new senior briefing list (now limited to six persons) has been chosen on political considerations.

Legal practice should be apolitical. A good solicitor retains the barrister who will do the most effective job. Politics do not enter into it. It doesn't matter if the barrister is a Catholic or a Mason, or if he or she votes Liberal, Labor or even supports Clive Palmer. It has got nothing to do with the professional job.

The Crown law office in Queensland has a proud history. It claims to run a best practice system. What happened to Stephen Keim doesn't really look like best practice.

Yours sincerely

James Thomas.

Two other bureaucrats exchanged emails complaining of a "counsel being ditched at the last minute" with a court hearing just over a week away.

The documents include an undated "list of senior counsel that can be briefed".

The same six names appear on an "attendance record" dated December 4, which includes the note: "CT Traves - he agrees to take the brief".

That note followed an attempt to hire another silk, Elizabeth Wilson QC, who agreed to take the brief after Mr Keim was bumped, but she was not approved.

Director-general John Sosso told the ABC he had made the decision to hire Mr Traves in consultation with the Crown Solicitor "by reference to the following considerations: availability, seniority, capability and value for money".

"Roger Traves QC was the most senior barrister and considered most appropriate counsel for this matter," he said.

This appears to be at odds with the Government's list, which shows Simon Couper QC and Ian Hanger QC are more senior.

Mr Sosso added: "There was no consultation made by me with the Attorney-General or his office in relation to this decision."

The Department declined to answer questions about its list of approved counsel.

A spokesperson for the Attorney-General says it is a matter for the Department.

"The Attorney-General was not consulted on this matter," the statement said.

Keim took aim at Newman Government

Mr Keim has authored a series of articles in the legal press taking aim at the Newman administration.

One article, published this month, noted Mr Sosso's role in a policy unit of the Bjelke-Petersen government singled out in Judge Tony Fitzgerald's landmark 1989 report on corruption in Queensland.

The controversy comes amid a crisis in relations between the Government and the legal profession in Queensland.

Premier Campbell Newman, who has attacked the judiciary for being too lenient, faces being sued by lawyers for defamation after public comments last week that members of the profession who acted for bikies were "part of the criminal machine".

The ABC is aware of two legal firms seeking advice on taking such action.